What is the atonement? Why was the blood of Christ necessary to offer us forgiveness from God? These are the questions at the heart of this book, a collection of sermons that each investigates the atoning work of Christ. As with most compilations, some parts are more helpful than others, but the sum total of this book provides a decent depth of material on a matter that both remains under attack and deserves our full attention. 

If God once resolved to save guilty sinners, then this way of Calvary was the only way He could do it. The marvel of Calvary is that God’s love, wisdom, and righteousness all met together there. Those three aspects of God’s holy character met together at Calvary, and this explains the necessity of the atonement. [7]

The New Testament always measures the love of God by the greatness of God’s gift of Christ to die on Calvary. [9] 

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This classic work from Packer shows how God’s complete, sovereign control of all things and people does not hinder or discourage evangelism (sharing the message of Jesus Christ) in any way. To the contrary, a proper understanding of God’s rule is the only thing that can bring about the kind of evangelistic fervor and confidence commanded in Scripture. Readers will need to think carefully through Packer’s arguments presented here, but it is a journey worth taking.

Far from inhibiting evangelism, faith in the sovereignty of God’s government and grace is the only thing that can sustain it, for it is the only thing that can give us the resilience we need if we are to evangelize boldly and persistently, and not be daunted by temporary setbacks. [14]

Evangelism is the inalienable responsibility of every Christian community, and every Christian person. We are all under orders to devote ourselves to spreading the good news, and to use all our ingenuity and enterprise to bring it to the notice of the whole world. [34]

Evangelism is the issuing of a call to turn, as well as to trust; it is the delivering, not merely of a divine invitation to receive a Savior, but of a divine command to repent of sin. And there is no evangelism where this specific application is not made. [48]

The gospel starts by teaching us that we, as creatures, are absolutely dependent on God, and that He, as Creator, has an absolute claim on us. Only when we have learned this can we see what sin is, and only when we see what sin is can we understand the good news of salvation from sin. [67]

We may not trust in our methods or personal dealing or running evangelistic services, however excellent we may think them. There is no magic in methods, not even in theologically impeccable methods. When we evangelize, our trust must be in God who raises the dead. He is the almighty Lord who turns people’s hearts, and He will give conversions in His own time. Meanwhile, our part is to be faithful in making the gospel known, sure that such labor will never be in vain. This is how the truth of the sovereignty of God’s grace bears on evangelism. [127]

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